Gina - 1st

"Riiight." Gina said in an off-putting way, ignoring his ramblings. "Well, do you know where a bank even is around here? 'Cause we're not going to have a very good chance of robbing a bank unless there's a bank around." She said in response to his last question, since it caught her attention that the ramblings had stopped.

Weird time shift thing that occurs~ *waves arms in an attempt to disconcert you from realizing that any time has passed at all*

After successfully retrieving a couple thousand dollars from Allen's bank account, the man went out and purchased the rest of his necessities and paid Gina back for any expense she had made on his behalf plus a bit extra for the inconvenience he'd been. Stashing the remainder of his cash on his person and throughout various pockets of his attire, new backpack, and person (this in itself made the scientist feel overly insecure. Even back when he was a student, having so much as twenty dollars on his person would have been a rare occurrence). 

After hours of driving for Chicago, Gina pulled into a gas station, and the two stepped out of the car, both bolting for the restrooms. Finishing first, Allen popped outside the door and shrank behind a stocked shelf as he saw a local cop paying for a few candy bars and some coffee. Great, just fantastic. Taking a peak at the television monitor behind the cashier, he perked up as he saw his own picture pop on the grainy screen. Both the officer and the cashier took an expressed effort, and the scientist tensed. The cashier squinted at the screen and said, "I-I swear I just saw those two...The bathrooms." Shit.

Crouching behind the shelf, Allen watched as the officer placed his hand on his gun and drew it, carefully making his way towards the back with the bathrooms. He heard a shotgun round cock, and he braced himself against the shelf. It wasn't stable. He could push it over if he really tried. Once the officer got close enough, Allen pushed and sent the stand careening atop his victim. I'm so sorry.


As Gina exited the restroom, Allen grabbed her by the shoulders and started pushing her towards the back door, a shot firing behind them as footsteps started gaining behind them.

"Hey-hey, what's the rush? What the-" She got cut off by the sound of the gunshot. "Shit." She said in response, as they kept on going. "What the hell Allen?" She asked as she attempted to find her own handgun that she kept on her person.  She rummaged in her pockets and grabbed the handle so that she could pull it out at the right time. This thing better still have some bullets left.

"Don't waste your bullets here!" Allen insisted as another shotgun shot rang out behind them, pellets breaking the glass jars on the shelves. Glass flying, Allen quickly grabbed the girl and shoved her into his chest, protecting her from the raining shards with his looming figure, made larger by his thick coat.

A moan erupted from the officer as he pulled himself from under the capsized shelf. "Can we go now?" Allen begged, eyeing the back door that was no more than four feet in front of him, loosening his grip on Gina. In a matter of moments, the officer would surely have his weapon drawn, and he wasn't sure just how many bullets his companion had left.

"Fine-but where? Let's get out of hear before they fucking kill us!" Gina exclaimed, warily looking around to make sure there we no bullets flying at their heads.

Allen pushed the girl forward and forced open the door, shards of glass falling behind him from his coat. Shoving her outside as another shot rang out behind him, the two found themselves in a cobblestone alleyway, littered with the trash that was ripe for the taking. After looking down both directions, he grabbed Gina's hand and started running the route that seemed more promising. Though he didn't know where he was going, he hoped that it would be somewhere better than here.

"How'd they find us? What do they want from us?" She wondered aloud, speaking to Allen as he dragged her along, "Geez," She sighed, trying to calm herself down.

As they kept on moving forward she could see lights in the distance, and in the dark she could see the moons reflection on the water that was up ahead. "Ah, look. By the pier." Gina pointed in the direction of the lights, "It-it looks like a fair. Ah! I can see the Ferris wheel now, come on! Maybe we can lose them there on a carnival ride or something. If we go on the Ferris wheel we can see what's around from high up and figure out where to go next from there." Gina planned out loud to make sure Allen was on board. She tried to avoid the obvious statement: Its...kind of like a date. The thought made her shudder for some reason-the idea was just so ridiculous...and embarrassing. Oh, that's a great date. People chasing us down and trying to kill us. Yeah, just the kind of date I always wanted.

"Well, I'm apparently wanted for something...You probably are as well," he briefly explained, wondering just what sort of crime they had pinned on him. Whatever it was, this couldn't be good.

Allen could hear sirens off in the background, and he sighed. They were still looking for them. But a fair? They would never look there, would they? No security cameras, plenty of oblivious people. No place better to get lost and unnoticed than amidst a crowd. Though it seemed a tad juvenile, and the thought crossed his mind that if they were discovered there, they would be sitting ducks, waiting to get off a ride, he assented. "Fine, but we're changing first."

Gina nodded, "Alright...if there's a pier, then there must be a beach...and at this time of night there's probably no one there...We can change down by the water, behind some rocks or something..." She was thinking out loud again, not really expecting an objection or anything as she walked in the direction of the fair, towards the beach that was landscaped underneath it.

After dodging into the shadows, the two made their way down to the small beach by the pier Gina had previously noted. As they walked down the natural slope from the surrounding cliffs, they saw no one else along the shoreline, which was lit by a large waxing gibbous and the general glow from the fair nearby.

Finding a few large rocks, which had likely been part of the cliff ages ago, the two split off to change.

"All right science boy, no peeking." Gina teased as the two of them parted ways.

She looked through her selection of clothes, but could't really find anything that fit the situation. What does one wear when they're running for their lives by going on a date-like trip to the fair? She didn't have very much to chose from that would fit that category, so she picked something formal and simple. After changing she tried to tie up what little hair she had so that it was off her neck-it had grown some since she met Allen.

Gina stepped out from behind the rock when she was finished. The moonlight made the skin on her bare shoulders glow in the dark. She slightly wished that she had kept her jacket on her, but it didn't really go with what she was wearing. However, she kept her boots so that she could hide things such as money or her gun.

She wore a simple black dress that stopped above the knee and had skinny straps to hold it up. Her boots came up to her knee, leaving a patch of skin between the two articles of clothing. She kept a knife strapped to her thigh, under her dress so that it was unnoticeable unless you knew it was there-just in case.

Leaning against the rock that she was changing behind just moments ago she crossed her arms and called out, "Will you hurry up? I'm freezing out here!"

Allen smirked and made his way behind his own boulder and dropped his bag into the sand. After rummaging around in it, he pulled out his compact and browsed through his clothes. He figured he could simply just change shirts (pants still being a difficult thing to man, seeing as his left arm - though no longer bandaged to his chest - was hard to control, still achy, nerves not yet healed).

Casting off his weighty jacket and basic button-up, he stored them in the compact and shuddered. It was a little colder than he had realized from underneath his warm jacket. Grabbing a thermal shirt, he donned it and slid a basic graphic T-shirt over it. Though he thought he'd be fine in this, the fair should be warmer with the excreted heat energy from the people, lights, and rides, he found a lighter jacket and slid into it, shoulder still aching.

Withdrawing a beanie from his inventory, he heard Gina call. "Well, I'm sorry I'm slow! One arm here, remember?!" he returned. "And would you mind chopping some length off my hair?" Throwing his compact back into his bag, he pulled it up onto his good shoulder and made his way out to see the girl.

The sight shocked him, and he stood staring for a moment. Regaining his composure, he continued, "Oh, no wonder why you're cold..." He didn't want to complain about her not choosing anything warmer. Glancing at her tightly-crossed arms, he saw that goosebumps were finding their way to her chilled skin. With a bit of a sigh, he shrugged off his jacket and placed it over her shoulders. That's what he was supposed to do, right? None of her clothes would match this, but a baggy men's jacket should do just fine.

Clutching the jacket, she could feel her face getting warmer-which would have been a good thing due to the cold if it wasn't for him standing so close to her. "Y-you...didn't have to do that ya know..." She muttered while she looked down at her feet, "But-thank you. I guess." She said in hoping that it was along the lines of the right thing to say. What does one even say in situations like this?

"You sure you want me to cut your hair for you? I'm not very good at that sort of thing..." She said as she looked up at him, in an attempt to find something to talk about.

Did I just embarrass her? Allen asked himself as he saw her avert her eyes, fingers clutching the material of his jacket. As he glanced up, he saw the slightest of blushes come across her face. No, it just has to be the cold...

"Well, we're going to the fair. Can't look like a bad 'boyfriend', now can I?" he explained, only to realize how insensitive that justification had seemed. Why did he always go with the explanation that he thought up after acting on instinct? What an idiot. "I mean...Um. Well, you're welcome. I didn't want you to be cold..." he restated, half-mumbling, hoping that he hadn't said the wrong thing. That's why he went into research. Human interaction was minimal and he was beyond poor at it.

"Well you're the best I've got, and it doesn't need to be good...Could you just tie it back and cut just above that? Your knife should be fine...Heaven knows that thing is plenty sharp..." he trailed off, recalling just how well that thing had sunk into his shoulder. Turning away from her, he sunk down to his knees, giving her a better reach of his loose hair (oh how he hated that, but he couldn't very well ask Gina to tie it for him). Crunching his knitted beanie with his good hand, he continued, "It's alright. I know it won't be even, but it doesn't matter! I've got this." Allen held up the beanie and waited in anticipation, thankful that he no longer had to face the girl.

The word 'boyfriend' startled her for a moment, but she gave a small smile at the thought of it. She liked how he kept rambling after that, she just kept smiling like an idiot to herself finding it funny how he was so easily embarrassed.

"Well, okay, if you're sure..." She said, her hands shaking as she lifted her dress and took out her knife, glad that he was turned away from her, not wanting him to see any more of her skin than he had to. Suddenly she felt like she was naked. Her cheeks started flaming, which warmed her up a bit more.

She took his hair into both of her hands and attempted to tie it back as tightly as she could, she was better at doing it to herself rather than to someone else. His hair was soft between her fingertips, so soft that she wondered why more people didn't try petting it or something. She couldn't really picture him with short hair, the longness of it just added to his geeky-ness. If it was short like normal men's hair then-he might actually be...decent looking. If it was short he'd have a lot less hair for her to run her fingers through...

Suddenly she was hit with the mental image of the two of them. They were on the beach in the same spot they were now. The sun was setting in the distance. It was warm on their bare skin, which glowed in the sunlight. She was on her knees, faced towards the ocean while Allen was sitting with his back to it. Both of them wore swimsuits, as if they were a couple on a trip to the beach-rather than two convicts running for their lives. She could feel his hands on her waist, sending a shiver along her spine. Her fingers ran from his cheeks upward, where her hands firmly grasped onto his newly short hair as he kissed her and she kissed him back.                                    

The sudden sound of birds made her jump back to reality, and the knife she had positioned above where she tied the ponytail came down a bit too hard, making a small cut into the back of Allen's neck. Gina gasped and put her hands over her mouth, wondering if he felt it all or if he had noticed.

As the knife nicked his neck, Allen jumped a bit. Running his hand to the back of his neck, he felt a bit of blood trickle through his fingertips, hair absent for the first time in ages. "Well, thank you for the two-for-one bonus," he returned, happy that she hadn't gotten it in deeper. Who taught her that it was a good idea to cut towards someone? Well, she was a rather experienced killer, he reminded himself. But he would have hoped that this instinct wouldn't have been in tact with him...

A little disappointed, he ran his fingers through his shorter hair and wiped the remainder of blood from his neck and pulled his beanie on over it. Telling himself that it was an accident, he grabbed his bag, pulled himself up, and faced the girl. "Well, are we ready?" he asked offering his bent right arm.

Gina slowly lowered her hands from her mouth, "I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed, hoping she didn't cause too much damage. She grabbed her knife that she had dropped and stood up. She hung her head in shame and nodded in response to his question. She hesitantly took his offered arm, Does he hate me now? That's the first time I've stabbed him...Even though I've threatened him a bunch of times...but its not like I meant to do it...He probably doesn't believe that though... I'm the worst. These thoughts circled around in her head as she started walking. Stupid stupid stupid... She chastised herself while she walked.

As he led Gina back down the beach, Allen noted how slowly she was trailing behind him. Usually she walked faster than him, even with those shorter legs of hers. "It's fine, don't worry about it," he dismissed the matter in a low voice just next to her ear. "Besides, we're going to the fair, didn't you want to do that? I mean it should be fun!" he marveled, speaking more to the air than the girl. Eyeballing the ocean to his side, enjoying as the sand crunched underneath him, he drew in a deep breath. He never thought he'd be outside again, and here he was: on a nice beach with a cute (though sometimes worrisome) girl on his arm.

"We're only going there because we'll be killed otherwise..." she muttered, realizing how stupid this whole idea was now that he said it out loud. They were putting themselves in a date-like situation, and they weren't even dating themselves. There was also the possibility that they were probably going to be killed. This was like walking to your own execution. Why is he so positive about this? How can he so sure that we aren't going to get caught?

She heard him taking a deep breath at which point she started watching him. He seemed so...happy. She smiled absentmindedly at him and stood a little more upright. Well, I guess if he's happy...I might as well be too. "You ever been to a fair, science boy?" She asked, wondering if he ever did things like this before he was stuck underground in that lab. She herself hadn't been to anything like a fair in ages, either. Not since she was a little girl anyways. The last time she went was with her father.

"It's been a while, but yeah. My parents were always strict with us both...They always expected more from us, ya know? But especially Maggie. Your first child gets good grades and doesn't go out much because people don't like him, but his baby sister? She was the artistic one, never one for grades, but never shied away. They always thought she should be studying, stop bothering with her art and music...But I loved that about her," Allen laughed, recalling his sister's shining smile, her brilliant resistance against their parents. "I'd manage to save up enough, and once a year when it came around, I'd take her to the fair without telling our parents. Every year until, well...That. What about you?" he asked.

Sister? Oh that's right...He mentioned her once. Gina gave a small smile, "She sounds nice..." She meant for it to be complementary. From the tone of his voice she guessed that he didn't want to talk about whatever 'that' was. I wonder if she's still alive."I...haven't gone to a fair since I was a little girl...My father took me. I don't really remember it all that well." She stated simply, surprised at how normal this conversation was, especially when comparing it to all the other previous conversations they had with each other.

"Yeah, she's great. Haven't seen her since I left. She didn't want me to leave, funny how that works, in'it?" he commented, chuckling a bit. It's like she knew something wasn't quite right. "Your dad, huh? He died when you were a kid, right? How old were you?" Allen asked, hoping he wasn't crossing a line.

So she is alive then...Unless something happened to her. "Yeah...he died when I was a kid." She stated sadly. She looked ahead, "Oh look. We're here." She said in an effort to drop the subject. Talking about family was just depressing. She had no family left, and as far as the both of them knew, neither did he.

She doesn't want to talk about it... Allen noted as they arrived at the fair's entrance. Pulling the girl towards the booth labelled "Tickets", he awkwardly released her arm and pulled his wallet from his pocket. "Two adults...and thirty tickets, please." Though he had to use the ticketing counter to prop his wallet up to withdraw his money, he managed to withdraw the bills and pay the man at the counter.

The ticketing man smiled and handed the ream of thirty, folded at every increment of five, to Gina, realizing that, for whatever reason, the gentleman standing before him had his usable hand busy with trying to navigate his wallet. Upon entering the fair, Allen asked, "So, where to first?"

Gina looked up at him, a confused look on her face. Then back down at the ring of tickets she was holding, then back up at him. "Why so many tickets?" She finally asked, wondering what it was exactly that he expected to do. Was it normal to buy so many tickets up front? She'd forgotten what to expect at a fair, all she really remembered were the games such as trying to win stuffed animals and other simple things. Thirty tickets seemed like a lot to her.